46 



FISH GALLERY. 



Order III. APODA, or LIMBLESS BATRACHIANS. 



£• These are worm-like burrowing crea- 



tures, destitute of limbs, without or with 

 only a rudimentary tail, frequently with 

 small scales imbedded in the skin ; the 

 vertebrae are biconcave. x\bout 35 species 

 are known, belonging to one family, 

 Caciliidce, which is found in tropical Africa, 

 the East Indies, and tropical America. A 

 specimen of Siphonops annulatus, the com- 

 monest species in South America, and a 

 skeleton of Ichthyophis glutinosus, from the 

 East Indies, are exhibited. The species 

 figured (fig. 36) has been recently dis- 

 covered in West Africa. Very little is 

 known of their habits ; they seem to live 

 buried in mud or very soft moist soil. The 

 ova are of large size and few in number. 

 Some species are ovoviviparous. Ichthyo- 

 phis deposits its eggs, shortly after impreg- 

 nation, in a hole in damp earth. These 

 eggs form a small mass, which the mother 

 protects by coiling herself round it. 



In the embryo large external gills are 

 developed within the egg ; and the larva is 

 provided with an opening, or spiraculum, 

 on each side of the neck. 



Urceotyphlus africanus. 



